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Last modified: December 1, 2008

Headline News From July 5, 2002 Issue

25 firefighters sent to Black Range Fire 

  Twenty-five firefighters were dispatched Wednesday to a fire that is burning in rugged, inaccessible country bordering the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Area in the Gila National Forest.

BBathhouse pool overflows, owner blames BOR 

  Steve Kortemeier was very concerned Wednesday afternoon after observing that the water level in a pool at his Hay Yo Kay Hot Springs in Truth or Consequences had risen three to four inches over the preceding week to 10 days.

County seeks Forest Service’s cooperation  
in determining wild scenic river designation 

  Sierra County Commissioners Wednesday authorized the county manager to send a letter informing the Gila National Forest Supervisor that the county has begun an Initial Environmental Assessment Process with respect to the Forest Service’s current Wild and Scenic Rivers Designation (WSRD) process and requesting the Forest Service’s cooperation.

...Jousting, anyone?
Click on photo to see a real knock down match.

County’s workers to get a pay raise

  Sierra County Commissioners at their regular meeting Wednesday approved salary increases for county employees for fiscal year 2002/03and raised the county’s contributions to employees’ health insurance.

Cutthroat trout stay off list of endangered species

  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has decided not to list the Rio Grande cutthroat trout as an endangered species, Sierra County Manager Adam Polley reported to county commissioners at their regular meeting Wednesday.

Local doctor captures rattlesnake in his home 

  Local chiropractor Dr. Bruce Fillmore had experienced an unusual number of rattlesnake encounters during June on his hikes throughout the area.

Sierra County’s inmates may be moved from Gallup to Santa Fe

  Sierra County’s prisoners, having only recently been moved to the McKinley County Jail under the county’s contract with private jailer Management and Training Corporation (MTC), may soon be moved to the Santa Fe County Jail.

NM Veterans' Home receives $270,000 to expand dining facilities 

  Senator Pete Domenici last week said the New Mexico Veterans' Home in Truth or Consequences has been awarded $270,000 in federal funding to reimburse the state for costs to renovate and expand its dining facilities.
 

…Generous donation to new fire hall

Truth or Consequences Chief Mike Tooley says two big TV screens, just donated by the local Moose Lodge 2050 and its ladies auxiliary unit Chapter 1626 Women of the Moose, will be a great asset in training firemen in the classroom of the new “Mike E. Tooley” EOC (Emergency Operations Center)/Fire Station, 310 E. Ninth Ave. It was just a coincidence that Channel 4 was blaring news about the wildfires in our neck of Gila country in southwest New Mexico. Click on photo for another view of the fire chief and the new fire hall.

DJ Photo by Bill Johnson

Fire Chief Mike Tooley and daughter C.J. Tooley, also a Truth or Consequences volunteer fire fighter, congregate with friends and guests inside the new Mike E. Tooley EOC/Fire Station on East Ninth Avenue during the Moose Lodge’s appreciation night open house Wednesday.
DJ Photo by Bill Johnson

25 firefighters sent to Black Range Fire

Forest fires strike closer to home

Twenty-five firefighters were dispatched Wednesday to a fire that is burning in rugged, inaccessible country bordering the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Area in the Gila National Forest.

Six smokejumpers from Albuquerque parachuted to the blaze, which has been called the Byers Fire.

In addition, a helicopter shuttled 19 firefighters to the fire as it burned 32 miles west of Truth or Consequences on the Black Range.

Fire managers said they might send additional firefighters to the incident. However, high winds from thunderstorms have been hampering helicopter operations.

Another fire was detected Wednesday afternoon at the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. The TJ Fire started near a horse corral and fire investigators are determining the cause of the small blaze.

Firefighters were also dispatched to another small blaze on Wednesday, 35 miles east of Glenwood.

On Tuesday, fire managers completed global positioning system mapping on the Walnut Fire Complex. They determined that the fire is about 21,207 acres, a figure that did not include burnout operations.

Fifty-five firefighters burned out six miles of containment line on Wednesday and will complete an additional two more miles.

They have contained 35 percent of the Walnut Complex Fire, which is about 60 miles south of Lordsburg.

The nearby Parachute Adams Fire has burned about 2,000 acres 50 miles south of Lordsburg. A fire engine continued to monitor the fire and search for hot spots on Wednesday.

The Skeleton Fire was 99 percent contained as of 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at 71 acres, measured using global positioning technology (GPS).

A roadblock along NM State Highway 159, from Whitewater Mesa to Mogollon, was lifted at 7 p.m. July 2.

Hand lines constructed in very steep country have held, and mop-up operations continued through Wednesday.

Crews hiked out from the Skeleton Fire Wednesday evening.

Garcia’s team will continue to manage the Skeleton Fire and will also assume management of the Cub Fire.

The Cub Fire, sparked by lightning, started in the Gila Wilderness on June 30. Rapid growth was seen on July 2, spurring the fire size from around 30 acres on July 1 to an estimated 1,000 acres that evening.

During Tuesday afternoon, smoke jumpers and an initial attack crew were pulled back from the fire line because of extreme fire behavior.

Lookouts at Mogollon Baldy were also taken off the mountain as a precaution. As the Cub Fire continues to grow, there is no accurate estimate of its current size.

Structure protection, two hotshot crews and two engines were on the way to Willow Creek on Wednesday.

A voluntary evacuation is recommended for Willow Creek, for public and firefighter safety.

Fire Behavior Analyst John Kwait warns that steep terrain and extremely dry and volatile weather and vegetation conditions in the Gila are higher than the highest on record. That can mean a fire will get up and run.

New fires can be expected to spread rapidly, with potential for spots to jump far ahead of the front of the fire, Kwait said. The Skeleton has been experiencing isolated torching and only short range spotting but still has potential for erratic fire behavior.

The majority of smoke that is visible in the southwest part of the state continues to come from the Rodeo/Chediski Fire in Arizona with the Skeleton Fire contributing only a small amount.

The Gila National Forest remains closed with some of the key recreation areas remaining open like the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, the Catwalk, Lake Roberts Campground, Quemado Lake, picnic areas, highway rest stops and vistas.

Contact the Fire Information Office in Silver City at (505) 388-8271 for more information on the forest closure and recreation areas that remain open.

<<<   >>>

…More crawling space

Fire Chief Mike Tooley says the new T or C fire hall bay has more space than one can imagine – far more space than the crawling space between fire housed in the old facility on lower Date Street. Shown in photo are firemen Leon Gorrell, Tim Johnson and others present for the open house Wednesday evening.
DJ Photo by Bill Johnson

A state-of-the-art generator (behind the crowd) backs up the new Mike Tooley EOC/Fire Station in the event of power failures. Firemen and guests were on hand for a tour of the facility during the appreciation night open house Wednesday evening.
DJ Photo by Bill Johnson

Bathhouse pool overflows, owner blames BOR

By Fred Mramor of the Desert Journal

Steve Kortemeier was very concerned Wednesday afternoon after observing that the water level in a pool at his Hay Yo Kay Hot Springs in Truth or Consequences had risen three to four inches over the preceding week to 10 days.

By three o’clock Wednesday Kortemeier found water was actually overflowing one corner of the pool and that the water had risen some in his other four pools.

Not knowing what was causing the water level to rise so much, Kortemeier inspected and cleaned the pool’s overflow and drain pipe and the inside and outside drainage ditch it empties into.

Kortemeier said he found that the drainage pipes and ditches were clear of silt or other obstructions and therefore didn’t know what was causing the water in his pool to back up and overflow.

Kortemeier at a little before four o’clock went a few blocks from his bathhouse at Austin and Pershing to the banks of the Rio Grande where water from his pools ultimately empties into.

Kortemeier discovered that like the water in his pools, the river’s level too had risen leaving water from his pools nowhere to go but up out of the pools and onto the bathhouse floor.

Kortemeier then called the Bureau of Reclamation at Elephant Butte, which he found was manned with only a skeleton crew and no one there to help him.

Kortemeier was given Wayne Treesers phone number in El Paso. Treesers, Kortemeier said, tells the BOR how much water to release from Elephant Butte Lake into the Rio Grande.

Treesers informed Kortemeier that the BOR releases water continuously from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, and is authorized to release up to 5,000 cubic feet of water per second (cfs), but that they weren’t releasing nearly that much.

Treesers didn’t say how much water was being released but did say BOR was acting within its legal authority and according to BOR policy.

Treesers gave Kortemeier Elephant Butte Dam Facility Manager Galan Hanson’s home phone number. When Kortemeier called him, Hanson agreed to inspect the bathhouse and arrived with another BOR employee at about 4:30 p.m.

A slight drop in the pool’s water level, probably resulting from the 4 o’clock shutoff, was then observed. Also, Kortemeier at about 5:30 noticed that the water level in the Rio Grande was about two feet lower than it was at about 4 o’clock.

Hanson then told Kortemeier he would relay his concerns to his superiors, and that was the extent of any amelioration offered by BOR personnel, Kortemeier said.

Kortemeier’s concern then was what would happen Friday (today) and next week when BOR resumes its water release schedule following the Fourth of July holiday.

Kortemeier said he can’t have customers in his bathhouse with a half inch of water on the floor. Besides being unpleasant, it could be a hazard to his customers and expose him to liability in the event of injury.

Kortemeier said he wanted to put BOR on notice that what they have been doing has caused flooding at his bathhouse that could result in damage to his property and a loss of business.

<<<   >>>

…One, Two… POW, POW… You’re dead!

Steve Glines of Dairy Queen fame takes a hit to the gut, then to the head and like Humpty Dumpty he couldn’t get back up again to continue in the jousting match against his victorious opponent, Darth Vader. The battle fun was part of the Full Gospel Tabernacle’s Fourth of July community celebration Sunday in Ralph Edwards Park.
DJ Photos by Bill Johnson

County seeks Forest Service’s cooperation

In determining wild scenic river designation

By Fred Mramor of the Desert Journal

Sierra County Commissioners at their regular meeting Wednesday authorized the county manager to send a letter informing Gila National Forest Supervisor Marcia Andres that the county has begun an Initial Environmental Assessment Process with respect to the Forest Service’s current Wild and Scenic Rivers Designation (WSRD) process and requesting the Forest Service’s cooperation.

Polley said the Forest Service should undertake the WSRD process in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) but that the Forest Service is apparently not going to go that route as they are acting from a lawsuit brought by the Southwest Center for Biological Diversity.

Polley reminded commissioners that a WSRD would afford “protection” to one quarter of a mile on either side of a designated river.

County Attorney Jim Catron at commissioners’ May 2 meeting said there has been a tremendous amount of litigation over the issue, citing cases in Virginia where the federal government has forced the removal of homes on private property within a quarter mile of rivers designated as wild and scenic.

“They’re doing this through interim guidelines the way they did the Mexican spotted owl. Because they did not do a NEPA analysis, they did not know how many owls there were, they did not know the nesting area required. They closed the timber industry because they didn’t do NEPA. They’re making exactly the same mistake (with WSRD),” Catron said Wednesday.

Polley added that he is concerned that a wild and scenic river designation will impinge on local water rights.

Currently the Forest Service is conducting its WSRD process “in-house” and only taking comments from the public and not involving local governments, Polley said.

The county’s letter nonetheless requests that the Forest Service act in accordance with NEPA, which would allow Sierra County’s government to participate in the WSRD process.

The county’s letter states the WSRD has the potential for negative effects that may include impacts on individuals, private property, communities and on other government jurisdictions and responsibilities related to water use and conservation.

The county requests coordinated planning in the forest amendment planning process to prevent duplication of efforts of the Forest Service and the county and to reduce costs and to protect the county’s interests.

The county also makes its requests for cooperation based on federal requirements and good faith agreements with the Forest Service to coordinate related planning efforts. The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act states that the plan for WSR must be prepared after consultation with and state local governments in accordance with federal regulations, the county’s letter states.

In addition, the county’s request is based on the Council of Environmental Quality’s statement that “agencies shall cooperate to the fullest extent possible to reduce duplication of effort,” the county’s letter states.

The county requests cooperation in the WSRD process based also on its existing Memorandum of Understanding with the Forest Service.

<<<   >>>

Kick boxing was part of this match between jousters Sunday at Ralph Edwards Park.
DJ Photo by Bill Johnson  

County’s workers to get a pay raise

By Fred Mramor of the Desert Journal

Sierra County Commissioners at their regular meeting Wednesday approved salary increases for county employees for fiscal year 2002/03and raised the county’s contributions to employees’ health insurance.

County Manager Adam Polley said he wished to raise the minimum salary for the county’s lowest paid employee to $17,000.

Polley reported that one employee earns only $12,000 a year, which he said is below the poverty level according to the State of New Mexico.

A specific goal of raising salaries is employees’ ability to maintain at least the same amount of take-home pay they had last year despite their rising insurance costs.

Polley said employees at the lower end of the pay scale are constantly falling behind.

In addition to the pay raises, the county will increase its contribution to employees’ health insurance premiums from 60 percent to 65 percent.

Polley complained that health insurance premiums have risen by 20, 22 and 25 percent in the past three years although the State of New Mexico in a survey three years ago projected that insurance costs for county employees would increase very little.

Polley said he did not expect annual increases in the double digits, never mind increases of 20 percent or more.

Polley said he thinks insurance providers were not being honest when they said they would not raise premiums and that he anticipates another 20 or 25 percent increase next year.

Polley said the New Mexico Association of Counties needs to step in somehow and stem the outrageous insurance cost hikes. Polley added that he hasn’t seen any increase in services along with the increase in premiums.

As suggested by County Commission Chairman Ralph Gooding, the county manager will draft a resolution to present at the Association of Counties summer conference next year with the hope of enlisting member counties’ support to propose legislation that will limit insurance premium increases for state (including county) employees.

<<<   >>>

Jeff Franks helps his three-year-old son, Steven, joust his opponent on the leg before throwing the light-weight jousting stick at him. The battle took place at Ralph Edwards Park Sunday during the Full Gospel Tabernacle’s Fourth of July celebration for the community.
DJ Photos by Bill Johnson

Cutthroat trout stay off

list of endangered species

By Fred Mramor of the Desert Journal

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has decided not to list the Rio Grande cutthroat trout as an endangered species, Sierra County Manager Adam Polley reported to county commissioners at their regular meeting Wednesday.

“The Service has determined that [cutthroat] are sufficient, genetically pure, secure, and stable populations of Rio Grande cutthroat trout distributed throughout its historical range to preclude it from becoming a candidate at this time,” a June 11 FWS letter to interested parties states.

Commissioners on Polley’s suggestion directed the county manager to write a letter to the FWS and the Forest Service requesting that Animas Creek remain open to the public and that the cutthroat trout will be available for fishing under the rules and regulations of the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.

Polley also will write a letter to the U.S. Forest Service requesting that the portion of Animas Creek within the National Forest be excluded from any restrictions if the cutthroat trout is again considered for endangered or threatened status.

<<<   >>>

…Close encounter

This rattlesnake was found inside Dr. Fillmore’s house in T or C at midnight. Although small, it’s bite can be just as poisonous or even more deadly than his momma’s.

Dr. Fillmore holds his snake-frightened poodle, Carmen, and the Snake Stick he invented to capture the small rattler, which is detained in the plastic jug at the end of the stick.

Photos courtesy of Meredith Rolley

Local doctor captures rattlesnake in his home

Las Cruces woman not so lucky

By Meredith Rolley

Local chiropractor Dr. Bruce Fillmore had experienced an unusual number of rattlesnake encounters during June on his hikes throughout the area.

The series culminated in a potentially fatal late-night confrontation last Saturday in which Dr. Fillmore and his little dog, Carmen, both of Truth or Consequences, were at grave risk.

Dr. Fillmore, currently practicing chiropractic and massage out of the Charles Spa and Motel, came home after dancing late Saturday to a rattling sound right at his feet.

He found, protruding from under the oversized boards of his front door, the rattle end of a rattling rattler. “My first thought,” said Dr. Fillmore, “was that the rest of the snake is in the house where my little dog Carmen is, and instead of her barking a greeting as usual, all was silent. What the heck to do next, was my question.”

Dr. Fillmore reported that killing the snake was the absolute last option, to be avoided. “Snakes are God’s children too,” he said.

Next, the Doctor reported, he took his Bowie knife and yanked back a bit on the rattles in hopes of encouraging the snake to withdraw from the room where little Carmen sat waiting.

“The snake continued on into the house and by the time I opened the door, was coiled to strike right at my feet. Quickly I surmised that Carmen was hunkered on a chair on the other side of the room, wide-eyed and silent,” he said. “How long had these two been staring at each other, I wondered?”

At this point, assured of Carmen’s safety, the Doctor got creative - he grabbed a three-foot long stick and quickly tacked a length of light rope along the side, culminating in a retractable loop on the end.

Dr. Fillmore trapped the snake behind the head with the end of the stick. The snake’s head easily fell inside the loop of rope, which he drew tight until the flailing rattler was snared.

Grabbing the snake behind the head with his bare hands, he deposited the snake in a plastic jug.

Dr. Fillmore said he encountered strong opinions from everyone while he had the rattler in the jug.

“Half were ‘Kill it! Kill it now!’ And the other half were, ‘Stop torturing that poor imprisoned creature, you brute’.”

Dr. Fillmore chose to release the snake back into the rocky terrain.

He commented that his concern in this matter was if Carmen witnessed him make a pet out of the snake, she might think it was okay for her to play with rattlesnakes too.

During the same timeframe as Dr. Fillmore’s encounter, a 70-year-old Las Cruces woman, Pamela Smith, remained unconscious for five days after being bitten by a rattler in her home at night.

“We heard the snake, but never saw it,” said her husband, David. “Now flashlights are the order of the day.”

Dr. Fillmore made a suggestion regarding keeping rattlers out of the home:

“In the Dominican Republic they repel rattlesnakes by putting lots of horns and bones on the kitchen fires. If that’s not convenient, just remember, use your ears. As far as picking up the snake as I did, I would not recommend that, but… oh, hell, what can I say, I’ve always been the kind of guy to just go ahead and grab the rattlesnake.”

<<<   >>>

The three boys await their turn having a friendly chat while two other boys race in unison and climb through the holes of the plastic course in almost perfect symmetry. The plastic obstacle course was on hand during the Full Gospel Tabernacle-sponsored July 4^th party for the community last Sunday at Ralph Edwards Park.
DJ Photo by Bill Johnson

Sierra County’s inmates may be

moved from Gallup to Santa Fe

By Fred Mramor of the Desert Journal

Sierra County’s prisoners, having only recently been moved to the McKinley County Jail under the county’s contract with private jailer Management and Training Corporation (MTC), may soon be moved to the Santa Fe County Jail.

MTC’s three-year contract with McKinley County to operate the McKinley County Jail in Gallup is due to expire at the end of this year.

Sierra County officials in anticipation that McKinley County may not renew its contract with MTC decided at Wednesday’s county commissioners’ meeting to draft a new contract with MTC to house Sierra County’s inmates at the Santa Fe County Jail.

Sierra County Attorney Sherry Thompson reported to commissioners that the McKinley County attorney said McKinley County may not renew its contract with MTC due to political considerations.

The political considerations, County Attorney Jim Catron said, are that county governments are the largest employer in some New Mexico counties and that some county commissioners like to give their constituents jail jobs, which they can’t do if a private outfit is running the jail.

<<<   >>>

New Mexico Veterans' Home receives

$270,000 for expansion of dining facilities

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Pete Domenici last week said the New Mexico Veterans' Home in Truth or Consequences has been awarded $270,000 in federal funding to reimburse the state for costs to renovate and expand its dining facilities.

The grant was awarded by the Department of Veterans' Affairs, and will reimburse the state of New Mexico for expenses incurred during the expansion of the Veterans' Home dining hall in 1996.

"The Veterans' Home in Truth or Consequences serves those who have given their very best to our country," Domenici said.

"I'm happy that the Department of Veterans' Affairs was finally able to help them finance the construction that occurred, which helped the home serve even more of our outstanding veterans."

Built in 1937, the building that originally housed the Carrie Tingley Hospital for Children became the Veterans' Home in 1983. The home now serves more than 130 veterans.

In March, Domenici was briefed on issues and concerns facing the Truth or Consequences Veterans' Home by Patrick H. Stafford, administrator of the Sierra County facility.

Domenici serves on the Veterans, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee, which sets the funding levels for veterans' programs.

<<<   >>>

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